As we started our first tour, I could probably explain little to nothing about the architectural significance of the buildings and the campus here at the University of Illinois. However, as the tour progressed, many things stood out to me. The most significant was the explanation of the different axes that run through the campus. The main axis runs north and south and connects buildings such as the stock pavilion, the bell tower, Foellinger Auditorium, and the Illini Union. This axis runs through 2 of the three quads on campus: the South Quad and the Main Quad, or the LAS Quad. Ironically, some buildings on the Engineering Quad are a bit off the main axis, but the architects weren’t given much when they started. While most people see the engineers being the most concerned with symmetry, that trend fails to show up in the namesake’s quad.
The other axis we came across on our first walk was the Military Axis which ran east and west connecting the ACES Library to the six-pack. Its name is born from the old military traditions that would take place around the six-pack since it is the largest open space that is closest to the armory. The field that the Marching Illini used to practice on is now vacant and isn’t used much, so the most logical thing to do, to follow the architectural patterns of our campus, is to build another building to house a collection of knowledge. The ACES library mimics Foellinger Auditorium and is a collection of knowledge, and the architectural patterns already on campus suggest mirroring this collection across the main axis. This very broad term could include a library or museum, but any collection of knowledge would maintain the symmetry created on most axes.
Our tour ended between the UGL and Foellinger auditorium. As one of, if not the best, research Universities in the country, our job is to continue to research, discover, and publish new findings, as well as continue to growth our wealth of knowledge which resides within the many libraries on campus. As a University signifies learning and collaboration, it would only make sense if the one place where that could take place was placed in the heart of campus. The UGL sits along the main axis, but is quite different from the other buildings on the axis. Its location was determined by the Morrow Plots, and it actually reaches into the earth. The two main entrances signify temples and frame the recurring theme of the main axis. As knowledge is supposed to continue to expand, the underground aspect of the library allows it to continue to expand without us seeing its true shape. The Graduate Library also captures this sense of expansion as it has room to expand all the way around the block it sits on.
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